My mom gets two Patron Saint Days – well, actually many of us do (both of the boys have more than one, as do I) but usually it is because of two commemorations (like St. Bartholomew has in addition to his Saint Day, a day of translation of his relics ), and not like for St. Catherine, a difference in traditions celebrating on different days. According to the Wikipedia, this happened because Catherine the Great didn’t want to share her Patron Saint day with the Leave-taking of the Entrance of the Theotokos (which was celebrated on Friday).

The hagiography of Catherine teaches us that:

Catherine was the daughter of King Constus. After the death of her father, she lived with her mother in Alexandria. Her mother was secretly a Christian who, through her spiritual father, brought Catherine to the Christian Faith. In a vision, St. Catherine received a ring from the Lord Jesus Himself as a sign of her betrothal to Him. This ring remains on her finger even today. Catherine was greatly gifted by God and was well educated in Greek philosophy, medicine, rhetoric and logic. In addition to that, she was of unusual physical beauty. When the iniquitous Emperor Maxentius offered sacrifices to the idols and ordered others to do the same, Catherine boldly confronted the emperor and denounced his idolatrous errors. The emperor, seeing that she was greater than he in wisdom and knowledge, summoned fifty
of his wisest men to debate with her on matters of faith and to put her to shame. Catherine outwitted and shamed them. In a rage, the emperor ordered all fifty of those men burned. By St. Catherine's prayers, all fifty confessed the name of Christ and declared themselves Christians before their execution. After Catherine had been put in prison, she converted the emperor's commander, Porphyrius, and two hundred soldiers to the true Faith, as well as Empress Augusta-Vasilissa herself. They all suffered for Christ. During the torture of St. Catherine, an angel of God came to her and destroyed the wheel on which the holy virgin was being tortured. Afterward, he Lord Jesus Christ Himself appeared to her and comforted her. After many tortures, Catherine was beheaded at the age of eighteen, on November 24, 310. Milk, instead of blood, flowed from her body. Her miracle-working relics repose on Mount Sinai(from the Prologue

I am realizing, and this wasn’t intentional, that I am wearing one of my favorite sweaters, which was my mom’s in high school. What a cool coincidence. Happy Patron Saint Day, Mom, and to anyone else who calls upon as their heavenly patron Saint Catherine. Remember, you can continue to celebrate tomorrow!

(Notes: icon is from St. John’s Monastary Gift store
And, I found this really neat site with English Saint Catherine sites – how cool is that?)